“You need to know the truth,” Beard continued.
“I am not going to stand before him and say, ‘Well, Lord, I would have pitched it but you know there’s going to be pushback’ … my brothers in Christ, my job is to pitch it. Whether you want to catch it or not is on you. My job is to make sure you know the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
Beard was born in Baton Rouge and worked for many years at his family’s business, Beard Engineering and United Industries, before hearing a call to the priesthood after a 2000 visit to Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina and site of alleged Marian apparitions. A serial dater before entering the seminary — though he never married — Beard said his closeness to Mary led to his view that “you can’t have two women in your life.”
Beard entered Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 2004 and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge on May 30, 2009, at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. He was pastor of St. Helena for the past 12 years, and his devotion to Mary continued throughout his life. A few years ago, Beard and a local businessman bought a former girl’s school in Osyka, Mississippi, and turned it into Our Lady of Hope Catholic Retreat Center, a sprawling complex that includes many gardens devoted to Mary.
Beard previously earned a master’s degree in business administration from Louisiana State University and went on to earn a master’s in divinity degree (M.Div) while at seminary. He also received a certification in spirituality (spiritual direction) and divinity, according to his obituary.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Catholic and a Democrat who largely holds pro-life views, said he and his wife had been close personal friends with Beard since 2011. Edwards and his wife, Donna, are from Amite and attend St. Helena.